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Friday, August 24, 2018

Armadillos
are small placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell.
The word armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one". In the
United States, the sole resident armadillo is the Nine-banded Armadillo,
which is most common in the central southernmost states. Armadillos have
been consistently expanding their range over the last century due to a
lack of natural predators.

Armadillos
feed primarily on insects and their larvae. They also eat earthworms,
scorpions, spiders,
snails, and small vertebrates and their eggs. Reports of armadillo
damage to birds' nests on the ground are rare. People cannot help but
appreciate the fact that armadillos consume large amounts of armyworms,
cockroaches, ants, wasps, flies,
beetles, and grasshoppers. They have
been known to dig up entire yellow-jacket nests. Armadillos usually
search for food by rooting or digging in ground litter, but will
occasionally eat berries and mushrooms.

Armadillos were not always present in Florida. During the past century,
they expanded their range from Texas into the Florida panhandle.
Armadillos are now found in uplands throughout Florida, except in the
Keys and parts of the Everglades and Big Cypress swamp.

Armadillos like forested or semi-open habitats with loose textured soil
that allows them to dig easily. Armadillos tend to frequent the vicinity
of streams and water holes, although they seem to avoid marshy areas.
Tracks in the mud around small ponds give evidence that the armadillos
visit them not only for purposes of drinking and feeding, but also to
take mud baths.

Armadillos are fascinating mammals. When they need to cross narrow water
bodies, they often walk on the bottom under water. If it is a wide body
of water, they will inflate their stomach to twice its normal size,
allowing for enough buoyancy to swim across. When startled, armadillos
often leap high into the air, and then run quickly to a nearby burrow.
Armadillos dig burrows for homes or to escape predators, and a single
armadillo can have several different burrows with multiple entrances. For more information about Florida nature be sure to visit our website www.floridiannature.com

Thursday, August 16, 2018

The red-throated loon is the smallest, slightest of the
divers. It is distinctive among loons not only in size, but also in
behavior, vocalizations, locomotion, and other aspects of life history.
The Red-throated Loon, unlike other loons, does not need to patter on
the water's surface on a long takeoff, but rather can take flight
directly from land if necessary. Most loons must paddle furiously across
the surface of the water before becoming airborne, but the small
Red-throated can practically spring directly into the air from land, a
useful ability on its tundra breeding grounds. Whereas only males of
other loon species vocalize, both male and female

Common loons are heavy-bodied birds that sit low in the water just
offshore. They are known as the great northern diver by British birders
and for good reason. They dip their heads below the surface to visually
locate prey and then power through the water with large webbed feet.
Streamlined and efficient underwater swimmers, loons can quickly move in
on small fish, crabs and invertebrates, usually swallowing them while
still submerged. Most dives are shallow and last less than a minute, but
deep dives may last up to five minutes. Loons are adapted to life on the
water; their legs are located so far back on their bodies that they are
one of the few birds that cannot walk on land. Instead they must crawl
or push their bodies onto land or into their nests.

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

The Florida population of rhesus macaque gained a foothold niche in the
Silver River State Park Local legend has it that the monkeys
descended from animals used to film several Tarzan movies nearly 50
years ago at Silver Springs. The first monkeys were brought here at that
time, but by a former Jungle Cruise operator who figured that the
animals would add an exotic and amusing touch to the lush natural
setting. In addition, various colonies of rhesus and other monkey
species are speculated to be the result of zoos and wildlife parks
destroyed in hurricanes, most notably
Hurricane Andrew.

The rhesus macaque has a brown body with lighter brown under parts. The
monkey's face and rump are red. The average height for females is 18.5
to 20.9 inches, and 19 to 25 inches for males. The average weight for
females is approximately 9 to 24 pounds, while males weigh between 12 to
24 lbs. The head is round, the eyes oval, and the ears small. The front
legs are longer than the hind legs.

A diurnal animal, the Rhesus Macaque is both arboreal and terrestrial;
it is mostly herbivorous and feeds on leaves and pine needles, roots,
and the occasional insect or small animal. The monkey has specialized
pouch-like cheeks, allowing it to temporarily hoard its food. The
gathered morsels are eaten sometime later, in safe surroundings.

Friday, August 3, 2018

When a heavy evening rain is impending during the spring or summer, many frogs and toads begin to call. This is the first signal of intense
breeding activity. Frogs and toads generally mate at night, since the
darkness conceals them from sharp-eyed predators, especially wading
birds. As rain starts to fall more and more frog voices are heard, until
in certain places it becomes almost deafening. Although it may seem
like frogs are just singing for fun, it is actually the males who are
calling to set up territories and to attract females. Most frogs in
Florida breed and lay their eggs in shallow, temporarily flooded ponds,
ditches, and depressions. Temporary water holes do not have large
resident populations of predators, such as fish, salamanders, and water
snakes, that would feed on the eggs or tadpoles because theses shallow
pools usually dry up quickly.

The Pine barrens tree frog
is only about 1–3 inches long and is one of the smaller species of tree
frogs. Members of the species are predominantly green, with wide dark
stripes. They often have spotted orange-gold markings on the hidden
surfaces of their legs, and also tend to have large toe pads. Pine
Barrens tree frogs are most commonly found in brushy areas, often near
peat bogs or shallow ponds. They usually inhabit areas carpeted with
thick moss. Adults are terrestrial, but tend to reside near water
sources. Unlike most frogs, Pine barrens tree frog are tolerant of low
pH levels, and often lay eggs in shallow, acidic ponds. Members of the
species are currently distributed in three distinct populations: New
Jersey Pine Barrens, the Sandhills of North and South Carolina, and the
Florida Panhandle area.

Gopher
Frog (Rana capito)- These nocturnal frogs are noted for their
short, stubby appearance. Their backs are marked heavily with dark
spots, sometimes causing a clouded pattern. Their dorsolateral ridges
are very distinctive. This frog will reach a length of 4.33 in. The
gopher frog usually spends daylight hours in burrows, holes, or tunnels
that are created by other animals. The Gopher frog primarily inhabits
the threatened sandhill communities, flat woods, and scrub in the
Atlantic coastal plain, where it
is usually found near ponds. The gopher frog breeds on spring nights in
very wet conditions. They seem to be rare, but their secretive nature
makes it difficult to determine their true population status.

Bog Frogs have rough dark green to
brown backs, black mottled undersides, yellow throats, and may have
light spots on the lower jaw. A light brown line runs along the lateral
fold and does not reach the groin area. This frog is less than 2 inches
long. This frog is uncommon in Florida and is found only in a few acidic
streams in Walton, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties in the panhandle.
The Florida bog frog will call from spring to summer with a call which
sounds like a chuckle -- a series of low-pitched single clucking calls,
noticeably slower at the end of the call.